So like... I come from a gaming background. For many years, the big thing in gaming was to pre-order games. You wanted to make sure you had a copy of the game on Day 1 and be the first playing it. Sometimes you get bonus content and cool stuff.
Shops like Game Stop (and EB Games in my country) still try and push people to pre-order games.
BUT in recent years, pre-ordering has dropped out of favor a lot. Really bad or disappointing game launches like Cyberpunk 2077, or unfinished games on release day, have really soured gamers away from pre-ordering. Now its common to wait at least a few days before getting a game and there is usually no chance of a game selling out, even physical.
So... I was thinking right? Is pre-ordering kpop albums, tracks and music unseen, also a bit foolish? What if the music is bad? What if you hate it? Aespa had huge, record breaking pre-orders for girls, but honestly reaction to the track and album has been a bit lukewarm by comparison. Lisa had very high pre-orders and LALISA did disappoint many. Itzy... oh Itzy (yeah I've pre-ordered Checkmate, ngl). They had really high pre-orders for week 1 of Checkmate. Like highest for Itzy, maybe even highest for Jyp GG, although theres nothing official. Then the title track preview dropped and fans were ummmm.... lets say confused at the very least. Release day could be very interesting.
Would it have been better to wait for release day to see what the album is like before ordering like gamers are increasingly doing these days, or is it still better to pre-order and throw money at a group, even if they disappoint you on release?
